fulbright Taiwan online journal

fulbright Taiwan online journal

Month: March 2013

Linda Alper: A midsummer night’s dream comes true

     Theatre actor and director Linda Alper taught English major students at Soochow University, culminating in a performance of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Under her guidance, the students, many of whom had no previous acting experience, created the production from the ground up. In this video Linda relates a breakthrough moment when she inspired her set designer to work creatively within their limited budget, which ultimately created an even dreamier atmosphere on stage. Linda also shares a few other experience and observations on Taiwan’s culture.     身為一個劇場導演和演員,梁妍教授帶領東吳大學英語系的學生從無到有完成了莎翁名劇 “仲夏夜之夢”。梁教授在此過程中激發了負責舞台設計學生的潛力,用有限的經費完成了一個如夢似幻的劇場設計。     梁教授也分享了她的傅爾布萊特經驗和對台灣文化的觀察。

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Christopher Isett: New evidence of the great divergence

     Historian Christopher Isett aims to answer a big question about world development: “Why, given all of its advances, did China not arrive at the industrial revolution or modern economy and capitalism? Why did those originate in Europe?” In order to answer this question, Dr. Isett used the height records of wrongful death victims to estimate the average height of the people around 1680 to 1780 in China. The average changes of height of a population are an important index of nutrition levels and the stability of the society. Dr. Isett found that in 18th century, the average height of Chinese people stagnated, which reflects the stagnation of average household income. Next, the team will extend their research into the 19th century to understand the process of “The Great Divergence.” The results of this work could challenge the arguments of well-known historian Kenneth Pomaranze. Dr. Isett is an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota. 中國與歐洲發展大分流的史學新證據     歷史學家愛仁民教授試著解答世界發展史上的一大爭論:『中國即使在各項科技發明上大幅領先歐洲,為何歐洲卻率先中國進入工業革命以並建立現代化的資本經濟?』為了回答這個問題,愛教授從意外致死受害者的身高紀錄,計算出中國二十世紀的平均身高。平均身高的消長,正是史學家衡量人民營養攝取水準以及當時社會穩定發展(有無天災人禍)的重要依據。他發現18世紀中國人民的平均身高一直保持在相同的水準,呼應了當時中國人民的平均收入水準。這項研究將中國與歐洲發展的分界點也更向西元1900年以前推移,也十分有可能推翻知名史學家『彭慕蘭』於『大分流』一書中提出來的觀點。

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Cultural Empowerment for Atayal Students

     Dr. Christine Yeh developed a cultural empowerment program in a 99% indigenous Atayal community in Yilan. In this video, she describes how she worked with the community and the teachers of the school to create a curriculum. In her educational program, which she describes as a “sustainable intervention”, she emphasizes ethnic identity and educational opportunities for students. Dr. Yeh worked closely with Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA), Mikael Owunna, and a local English teacher, Jennifer Huang. Results from the program and pieces of student work will be displayed in a 2014 exhibition in the National Taiwan Museum. Dr. Yeh is a Professor at the University of San Francisco. 葉晶博士深入宜蘭縣南澳鄉協助泰雅族部落開發文化賦權課程。她的研究主要圍繞著以社區和學校為基礎的課程建構與評鑑,尤其著重在族群認同及教育機會等。她與宜蘭英語協同教師Mikael Owunna及本地英語教師黃嘉雯共同開發了一系列的文化賦權課程,並預計於2014年於國立臺灣博物館展出相關成果。

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Mary Stokrocki: Cultural exchange through digital arts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQkd4PGjp_g     Dr. Mary Stokrocki led her art students at Chaiyi University to explore the digital art world in Second Life. The students learned about artists and their works by curating virtual exhibitions. Her students showcased aspects of living in Taiwan, such as local flora and foods, through this digital medium. During her Fulbright grant, Dr. Stokrocki also learned about Taiwan’s agriculture, aboriginal culture, experiences which she has brought back to the US to enrich her teaching. Dr. Stokrocki is a Distinguished NAEA Professor of Art at Arizona State University.  透過數位藝術搭起文化交流的橋樑 司徒薇教授引領嘉義大學視覺藝術系暨研究所學生遨遊Second Life網路世界,並讓學生透過策展的練習,從數位世界了解藝術作品和藝術家。此外,她還透過此一平台搭起了跨校文化交流,讓台灣學生透過此一平台介紹台灣的美食、花卉與生活種種。在這次傅爾布萊特獎助的交流經驗中,司教授也深入體驗了台灣農業與原住民文化,並準備將這些文化學習帶回美國分享

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Research & Reflections

fulbright taiwan online journal